//------------------------------// // III- Ring of Fire // Story: Blazing Skies // by SwimmingDalek98 //------------------------------// Blazing Skies Chapter 3: Burning Rings "So, what're you in here for?" A deep, but raspy voice shakes me from the trance. I look around, growling. My tail flame does little good in illuminating my cell, so I wait for my eyes to naturally fix themselves. I see a short, oddly-shaped figure in the corner. I glare, and try to focus on exactly what it is, before I hear it speak again. "I asked you a question, it's only polite to answer back." Well, I was just put into prison, asshat! I'm gonna need some time to adapt! I Growl in return, before turning to examine the area itself. What feels like an eternity passes, before I respond. "Celestia." "I'm sorry, what?" "I tried to beat down Celestia, alright? That stupid sunbutt zoccola is why I'm in here! Any other questions you'd like to ask, shit-for-brains?" He jumps back at this, likely from the volume of my voice. "Well, how's about we have ourselves a little ice-breaker? I'm guessing we're both going to be in here a while, so-" "Wrong." He leans forward after that. Now I've got him playing into my hands- er, claws. "I'm sorry, what?" "Wrong. You might be staying here a while, but I'M getting out." All I have to do is get him to tell me anything he knows about the prison's design, and I roast it from there. My Pokédex entry specifically stated that I can MELT ROCK, so this shouldn't be too much of a hassle, right? "You are quite courageous, dragon. But I'm afraid these walls are too powerful for even I to escape from. What makes you think YOU can do it?" Now here's the part where I instill hope in him, and make him help me. "Because I'm strong. Because I don't let challenges take me down. Instead, I let them make me stronger. These bars can hold me down, but I'll break them. I'll get stronger. Just you watch…" At this, he remains silent. Time for the real kicker, "I got my ass handed to me by a sun goddess. After that, I realized how far behind I am. I wanna get strong enough to fight her, on even ground. I'm gonna get out of here, and I'm gonna kick her culo into orbit!" Still silence. Meh, knowing how these things usually go, he'll certainly be inclined to help me. In the meantime, might as well show him how far I'm willing to go. "Fire Blast! Flame Burst! Dragon Rage! Fire Punch! Overheat! Power-Up Punch! Rock Smash! Giga Impact!" The gates shake and rattle, but they still stay strong. I'll be damned if they're not made of titanium or something like that. Nonetheless, it's still heated up from my attacks. That means it might have some sort of limit to how much damage it can take. I just have to keep trying, "Inferno! Incinerate! Flamethrower! Dragon Claw! Mega Kick! Mega Punch! Mega Punch! Mega… PUUUUUNNNNCCCCHHHHH!" I begin a rapid series of Mega Punches, concentrating them all on a single point which I'd made sure was the focus of my earlier attacks. The spot itself was red-hot, and I could feel my knuckles bruising, not just from punching, but also from the heat. Hey, a dragon can only take so much, y'know? "GRRRRAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!" My punches go faster, and faster, until my arms become a dull orange blur, camouflaged with the super-heated metal. I keep going, I keep going, God, damnit, I keep going. I go until I feel something snap. And I still keep on going. Another snap. Both my arms are broken. No matter. "Dragon Tail! Mega Kick! Wing Attack! Fire Fang!" I keep circulating through the moves, because I know that I'm getting closer. I KNOW I am. Another snap. My right leg's busted. I keep kicking. The sound of flesh against metal echoes through the prison, but I KNOW I can escape. Nothing will stop me from getting out. Not some sun god puttana, not a platoon of finocchio guards in fancy armor, and CERTAINLY NOT SOME WEAK-ASS DOOR! Another snap. Both my legs are broken. I keep going, with Dragon Tails and Wing Attacks. Another snap, and I collapse. My left wing's broken. I'm lying on the ground, but I'm not out of the game yet! I raise my head, and unleash a Flamethrower with all I have left. The trail of flame flies through the air, arcing, and colliding with the point that I'd abused so much. The gate begins to glow again, and it glows as bright as it could. I keep burning, and burning it, until I finally run out of breath. "Guh… Huff… Did… did I do it?" There's so much smoke in the air I can't even see the damage. "…" The other figure simply trots near the smoke, and begins… fanning it away? But I heard four legs. How does he have hands? "Observe, the fruits of your effort." I turn to the gate, and… "GUUUUUUUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGHHHHHH!Così vicino! Così dio dannatamente vicino!" After all of that, I got A DENT! A SINGLE GODDAMN DENT! "No… No, no, NOOOOOOOO! I won't die down here! I WON'T! GIGA IMPACT!" I slam into the wall with all I have left. I barely even tap it, before falling over. "Your courage is admirable, and your determination? Even more so. But that only gets you so far. These gates are impregnable. Believe me, I've tried. There's no way around them." "Then… I'll just… make… a way… through them…" He stares at me after that. "Very well. You've piqued my interest. You wish to find a way out? Then you'll need to get stronger." I look up at him, and glare, "Yeah, no shit, Sherlock." He frowns in response, "You want my help, or not?" I stare, before smirking, "Depends. Will it get my flaming culo out of here?" "Hopefully. What's your name, drake?" "Geo. I'm Geo." "Nice to meet you, Geo. I am Lord Tirek. "BWA-HA-HA-HA! So… so, you… tried to DRAIN THEIR MAGIC POWER? OOH-HO-HO-HO-HO! Mio dio, this is just too good!" I'm leaning back against a large rock, in front of a campfire I started, breaking my shite laughing, while Tirek speaks of his imprisonment in this hellhole. Apparently, he's a minotaur who tried to drain the innate magic of the ponies that lived here to strengthen himself, but he got his ass whooped and then stuck in here. I lean my head back, and drink from a canteen filled with some water Tirek found. Well, he thinks it's water. Tastes good enough, so it's fine by me. He turns away, and stares at the gate, clenching his thin, malnourished fist, "Hmph. Those Royal Sisters simply took me by surprise. I swear, I shall hang them on my wall when I get my hands on them. Those two will never see what hit them." 'Those two'? I raise my head in response. "There's only two of them? Huh, thought there were three." Tirek's head practically whips towards me. "THREE? You say there's a THIRD alicorn out there?" Uh-oh. "Well, yeah. Wings and a horn. Purple, goes by Twi. Think that's a nickname, not sure. But considering how 'Sweetie Belle' and 'Rarity' are legitimate names here, I wouldn't be surprised." "DAMNATION!" He slams his hand against a rock, and… HOLY SHIT! He left a mark! "Celestia has ANOTHER alicorn? This shall make the coming battle all the more difficult…" "Wait, she's NOT one of the sisters?" I cock my head out of curiousness. Tirek turns to me, practically stomps his way over, grabs me by the throat, and shakes me like a doll. "What do you know about her? How strong is she? WHAT IS SHE CAPABLE OF?" I stare blankly, before slowly replying, "Dunno. I fought her friends and her guards. She never got a chance to lift a finger, surprisingly. Although, she CAN lift things through the air." Tirek's eyes narrow, "What kind of things?" I show him the Mega Stones, "These. Don't know what else she can do, though…" Tirek's eyes widen, then he turns away and roars. Well, roars as good as a minotaur that hasn't eaten anything in over a thousand years can roar. It was more of a light cry. Still got the message, though, "DAMNIT! We'd be going in against TWO ALICORNS, and a third whose limitations we are COMPLETELY unaware of!" Oh, mannaggia, he's right. I only fought Luna in the dream world, and even THEN, I curb-stomped her, really. She only fired off a few laser beams, but I never gauged their strength… Maybe I should've. Ah, well. What's done is done. "Geo." I raise my head, and he stares at me with a look of determination, "You must get stronger, if you want to leave this place. And you must get FAR stronger if you want to stand a chance at Celestia or Luna. I am willing to train you, if only for our shared goal of revenge. After that, we shall part ways, understand?" I smirk in response, "Oh, HELL, yeah! Facciamolo!" No matter what, I will get stronger. "GRAGH!" A stone flies through the air, and I rear back my fist. "Hah… Rock Smash!" I slam my claw into the stone, and take a firm grasp of it, digging my claws into it. I clench my fist, and it shatters into pieces. I raise the pebbles in my hand, and throw them into the air. I hear a slight whistling, and I perk up. I turn, and I quickly move out of the way. Another stone hits where I was just standing. Another whistle, and I dodge again. The stones begin falling at a faster rate, and I move around quickly as I can. I hear one directly above me. I look up, and I snarl, "Dragon Tail!" I swing my tail, and it knocks the rock into the air. I raise my claw, "Power-Up Punch!" The entire thing shatters into pieces. I look to Tirek, and he simply shakes his head, and points up. I look up, and a second rock falls, knocking me to the ground. "You should feel lucky I went easy on you. Because Celestia won't." Clever vecchio caprone… "Grgh… hurk… Gragh!" A large stone sits on my back, wobbling. Both of my claws are around ropes, which I will pull if it starts leaning to the other side. It hurts, but it's worth it. I'll get strong. Stronger. Stronger. STRONGER! "GRAGH!" I yank on both ropes, and the stone ceases moving. "Good, good. Now here's the real challenge: stay like this until supper." Wait, there's food down here? Why didn't he say so- Oh, dio. Thunk! "Look, Geo… if you want to get out of here, you'll have to try harder." Tirek and I sit at the campfire. He sips the canteen, but I smack it away. "What the HELL do you think I'm doing? Slacking off? I wanna get back at them JUST AS BAD AS YOU! I'm putting 110% into this! I just wanna get back at them for locking me in here!" "Well, you HAVE to get stronger! "I AM!" "Well, you're not getting strong enough!" "HOW MUCH STRONGER DO YOU WANT ME TO BE?" "I WANT YOU TO BE THE BEST! I WANNA SEE THE BEST DAMN CHARIZARD IN THE WORLD! I WANNA SEE THAT BLAZE MAKE YOU SO STRONG, YOU ENVELOP CELESTIA'S FLAME! "I WILL! I'LL BE THE HARDEST," "YEAH!" "DARKEST!" "YEAH!" "SMARTEST, FASTEST, NASTIEST!" "Then go out there and SHOW ME WHAT YOU CAN DO!" "I will." "Gragh!" "Rock Smash!" I grab the rock falling from the roof, and I throw it at another falling rock. The two, now a single larger rock, floats in air for but a moment. I run to it, an drop-kick it, "Mega Kick!" I knock the stone to another that's falling. Once I hit the ground, I jump up, and fly out of the way of the falling rocks. I turn to Tirek, and he points again. I catch the stone with but a single claw, and crush it without even using a move. "Grgh…" The stone on my shoulders balances nicely, and Tirek stares at the stopwatch. It's the only thing Celestia brought him, mainly to taunt him. Now? It's a tool to make me stronger. "Thirteen minutes. You're doing excellent. You can put it down now. I think you're ready. There's still one more test you need to do…" "FLAMETHROWER!" A continuous wave of heat etches from my mouth, hitting the gate. Tirek hits the timer, and sits back. Where'd he even GET it? "Hold your flame. I do not expect you to be able to overpower Celestia with brute force, nobody's flame can be weaker than the sun's. But I DO know that her connection to it is limited. She refuses to tap into its full power, for her overprotective nature. She believes holding back will keep her people safe. Rather, it is where we shall lay claim to victory. You must OUTLAST her, Geo!" Yeah, yeah, yeah. Shut up already, feckin chancer! I'll beat you to the bloody ground at this rate! "Hold… hold…" WHAT THE HELL D'YOU THINK I'M DOING? "It WEAKENS! Keep it at the same level, fool!" Jaysus, man! I'm up to ninety here! No need to scream like that! "Ah-hem?" I roll my eyes, and force the flame to its maximu- merda. That's teh last thought I have before I hit the floor. "Hello? Geo? Are you awake? WAKE UP, BOY!" I crane my neck, and stare inquisitively at him. By God, he's gonna get it! "Hold yer whist, ya bloody freak o' nature! I pass out from breathing fire, and the only thing you think to do is YELL at me?" "Well, you NEEDED to see this. Look what I found, it landed on your head. It's what took you out..." He raises a small item to me. I can't quite make it out, but I raise my tail flame, and- "Jamey mack! It's a bloody ™!" "A what now?" He stares inquisitively, before I realize he has no idea what I'm talking about. "A ™. It stands for Technical Machine. You use one of these, and a Pokémon can learn a new move. From the looks of it, this is… #44! Rest!" Thank GOD I already explained to him what Pokémon were and how we're of another dimension. What I DIDN'T mention was that Pokémon are fictional creatures made by Nintendo. Meh, what he doesn't know won't hurt him. Tirek raises his eyebrow, "Rest? Sleeping is a technique of you… Pokémon?" "No! I mean, yes- I mean, GAH! Okay, it's a MOMENTARY rest. While I'm using this technique, I sleep, and then all of my wounds recover!" THIS piques his interest, "The ability to instantly recover from any wound? By SLEEPING? Let me see that… I wonder if it'll recover my lost power…" He reaches for it, but I swipe it away. "No. It won't recover lost stamina. Believe me, I've seen other Pokémon use this move. Still tired as feck. It just prolongs the inevitable if yer on the losing team, but when the enemy's chargin' up their moves, this can come in real darn handy. Besides, I dun think anythin' other than Pokémon can use these. Better off not to risk it. It COULD kill you. And that would be just terrible. You're the only person who's willing to help me out. Can't let you die so soon." Tirek glares at me for my sarcasm, "Well, then acquire its powers. If you're capable of healing yourself so, then you should be able to do more damage against Celestia and Luna. At least, some more. Wait, what if you're completely incapacitated?" I turn to him, and reply quickly, "If a Pokémon is absolutely beaten, and they lose consciousness against their will, then they can only heal naturally. At least, until they get enough strength to use Rest. The only problem with this move is, I don't wake up immediately after I recover. It takes a minute to wake up. And NO, slapping won't help. The only way for me to fight is to have #88, Sleep Talk. That'll let me attack when I'm asleep on the battlefield." Tirek raides an eyebrow, "It wouldn't happen to be… this one, now would it?" He raises another ™, and it's… Yep, it has #88 on its side! "WHOO-HOO! OH, YEAH!" I act the maggot for a little, dancing about with the the two TMs. Seriously, TWO! I have TWO TMs! "Wait, how many others are there?" Tirek merely rolls his eyes, then points to a few other lying in a pile. I giggle, and dash over to them, and begin digging through them, "It must be Christmas! Let's see… Earthquake? Oh, thank goodness! We could always use THAT for some widespread panic! Wait… there's only a few here… Earthquake, Focus Blast, Shadow Claw, DOUBLE TEAM? THANK GOD! That would've come in handy so long ago! Would've never gotten into this sinkhole… Wait, is that… YES! OH, YES!" I raise the ™ into the air, showing Tirek, "Behold, Lord Tirek. THe key to our salvation. ™ #28, Dig! With this, I can dig my way out! I can open it from the outside! YES! We can get out of here!" Tirek practically collapses in joy, and I raise Dig into the air. I focus, and I feel the ™ begin to rotate. It raises into the air, before slowly sliding into my stomach. Congratulations! Your Geo has learned Dig! "Now, before we go, you mind if I burn through the other ones?" With a larger arsenal than before, the two of us stand before the gate. Tirek holds my Mega Stones, so I can use both hands for the job I'll have to do. I stretch my wings, and crick my neck and knuckles. I turn to Tirek, who nods, before mouthing 'go'. He told me that Cerberus, a three-headed dog, guards the gate, and that Celestia herself visits every now and again. Apparently, his clock says today's an inspection day. If they check us now, they'll figure out I can dig through dirt, and we'll be put under better containment measures. "Ah-HEM! It's only a matter of time until they commence with the inspection! Every second worth of a head-start from them counts!" Merda. I reach back, before leaping forwards, "Dig!" Instinctively knowing the technique, I scratch through the ground repeatedly, and find myself burrowing through earth like a hot knife through butter. I keep digging forwards, until I feel the gate's cold hard metal touch my tail flame. I take a deep breath, hope for the best, and submerge the flame. OH MY GOD! I GOTTA GET IT OUT OF HERE! NOT AGAIN, NOT AGAIN, NOT AGAIN! I burst from underneath the ground, and do a light spin in air to remove the dirt. I look to my flame. It's not even hurt at all. Huh, it's like getting a shot, or something. Ah, well. Better not do it again. Don't wanna risk it. "GROOOAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" Huh, so this is the 'guard dog of Tartarus'. I was expecting more of a badass German Shepard, or a Siberian Husky. What I was NOT expecting, was a BULLDOG. Seriously! DISNEY'S interpretation was probably better! Anyone remember that? Anyone? Fine, here's a picture: In all seriousness, that dog was AWESOME. Just ripping apart a MASSIVE steak like that. "RAOF!" Right. TIME TO DIE, TOUGH GUY! He lunges at me, and I fly overhead. Let's see… Normal-type? Dark? See, after hearing the stuff Tirek told me about this world, I managed to understand that these creatures have inherent attributes that are similar to Pokémon types. Tirek himself is a Dark type. I should know, I used Power-Up Punch on him. It was a training accident, okay? Anyways, he claimed it stung more than it should've, and it singed his flesh. Apparently, that's the effect of Fighting types on Dark types. Anyways, I understand now that my moves can work on them depending on their inherent 'type'. But I can't tell what they are unless I actually test them in combat. But for now, I'll just take him down. Not in the mood for any scientific shit. "Mega… PUNCH!" I slam my fist into Cerberus' middle head, "Shadow Claw!" A dark coating of purple energy extends around my hand in the shape of what most resembles a Gengar's hand, which I bring down on the right head. "Are ya gonna step aside, ya mutt?" The left head whimpers, and runs off, with the other two unconscious. I turn to the gates, and I reach for the opening valve. I grasp it, and I pull tightly. "Grgh… GRAGH!" The gates groan, and slowly peel themselves apart. Locks of all shapes and sizes dismantle, and open. A powerful hissing releases into the air. Tirek himself trots out, and hands me the Mega Stones. I look at him, and grin. "We did it! We're free!" Tirek turns, and stares at the empty sky. He holds his hands high in triumph, and stands victorious. He breathes in the fresh air, and laughs. "Hey, hate to break it to you, but we need to move. Now." Tirek shakes his head, and then turns to me, "Quite right. Wait, they're coming! Quickly, we must hide!" I grin, "Hop on. I can use Fly and get us out of here." Tirek nods, and climbs onto my back. I shake back and forth, before bursting into the air, "Fly!" Moments later, we're high in the sky, and Tirek is laughing away, enjoying his freedom. "WE DID IT! WE ESCAPED TARTARUS! HERE ME, EQUESTRIA! I, LORD TIREK, HAVE ESCAPED FROM TARTARUS! HAH-HAH! NOTHING CAN STOP US, NOW!" I stop in midair. "Hmm… let's see… we're gonna need a place to hide out… at least until we can formulate a plan… somewhere where neither of us will be seen as conspicuous…" Tirek rubs his beard, "I wish I knew the state of modern Equestrian affairs. I don't know what places would find a dragon very inconspicuous. But I know that if I just stay under my cloak, I can resemble a pony enough for them to shrug me off… hopefully." Brilliance strikes me, "I know just where to go." Tirek nods, "Tell me." "Where I first awoke in this world. It's a forest, pretty darn deep. No inhabitants, as far as I can tell. It should be the perfect place to remain hidden in. You can rest, and recover your power there, with real food and water, and I can hide." "You mean to say the Everfree?" I nod, "If that's what it's called." We soar through the air, and I happen to notice the small town that borders it, "That town. That's where Twi lives." Tirek nods, "We can spy on her from the forest. Hopefully, something will come around that will show us just what she's capable of. I also know that the Sisters lived in a castle in here, once. If what you said about them living in a mountain city is correct, then the old castle must be abandoned. The Everfree's many dangers must've set them off over time. It should be in THAT direction, if the mountain hasn't moved." He points a single bony finger at a certain part of the woods. Good enough for me. I turn sharply at Tirek's gesture, and begin to descend. I slow down when I see the ruins of a castle. "Just as I imagined. They couldn't handle the Everfree. Their 'little ponies' were put into too much danger just to praise their god-rulers. They would never have been able to stomach those circumstances." "Whatever. I just hope there's food nearby. We can always get water from the moat." I stomp through the castle, using my tail as a torch. Tirek is also on guard, clutching at his cloak like a kid would a blanket. He clearly plans to throw it in the face of the first thing he sees. It's flammable, so I'll scorch it the moment he does. I raise my claw, telling him to stop. I sniff the air for a moment, and find nothing. "Nothing here. You can relax now." He cools down, and I begin wandering with less constraint. We check through various rooms, trying to find any useful supplies. Eventually, we find a small pile of old rusted weaponry, several old sacks and bags, and a bunch of old stone. Brilliance striking me again, I decide to take the rusted weapons to the forge, and I light it with a single Ember, such is the strength of my growth. I take the weapons, and begin to melt them down. My status as a Fire-type made it easier to work in the forge, and to properly do what I had to. This would certainly help us in the future battles, oh sì, anzi… "Geo! I've been trying to find you for the past twenty minutes! Look, I found some food! It's not much, but it's better than- oh, my…" He drops the small bundle of fruits he found, and stares in awe at my creations. "Whaddya think? It's not that effective, and it only covers some of my vitals, but it's better than nothing, right?" Tirek stands in awe, before shaking his head, "What good could something like THIS do? All it can accomplish is protect just a LITTLE BIT of you!" "Better a little than nothing, right? And besides, I didn't want those weapons to go to waste. They're already dead, why not give them a new purpose, and this time not one that involves protecting imbeciles?" "Hmm.. fair point… any other ideas you had in mind?" "Oh, yes. Quite a few, buon amico, QUITE a few…"